Ecological Systems Model Social Work

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Social workers work with people to help them navigate nearly all areas of their lives. Social workers help these people to either fix or enhance those areas. In order for social workers to be able to assist people in so many aspects of their lives they need to be knowledgeable in many diverse areas. It is imperative for social workers to have an understanding in how people develop, what the various stages of development look like. Having additional knowledge of the social, economic and cultural practices of those who they plan to work with is an asset that will not only benefit the client but help the social worker as well. Social workers are capable of working with any person and will assist them with the struggles of daily life that…show more content…
This system looks at much more than the physical location of where one lives. The Ecological Systems Model also examines a person’s surroundings in addition to where they feel that they fit within those surroundings. A persons surroundings, in addition to where a person feels that they fit within their surroundings are called a person’s habitat and their niche, respectively. When we look into these further we can see how these work in our own lives. My habitat is where I live. Other factors which are considered my habitat would include my friends, family, and neighbors with whom I associate. The list continues with other support networks such as where I work, the church that I attend, in addition to any organizations that I might participate in and even my pets. When a person “finds their niche” this means that they have found a place where they feel like they belong. They have identified what role in life they want to fulfill. For those of us who are taking this class we have identified that becoming social workers and helping others as our…show more content…
This could be the contact between the social worker and an individual. These interactions within the microsystem are with a single person. People have many microsystems that they are involved in. The mesosystem is a look at the various groups or interactions that a person participates in within the microsystem and expands upon that by looking at two or more of the relationships in the microsystem. The exosystem is the second doll from the center when using the example of the matryoshka dolls. They exosystem is a systems that the individual is affected by, however may not directly interact with. This could be seen with someone who lives in a town and is affected by the rules and regulations of that town however, they do not directly have any involvement in the city council. Finally, the last layer of our doll and the last level of Bronfenbrenner’s theory is the macrosystem. The macrosystem is where the cultural beliefs and ideologies of a population rest. These beliefs and ideas are passed on from generation to

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